Robbie and Stephen Amell’s ‘Code 8’ Film Raises $1.7 Million From Indiegogo, The Highest-Crowdfunded Film of 2016
Though crowdfunding a film has always been a risky venture, sometimes it can pay off handsomely, especially when you have considerable talent behind and in front of the camera. Case in point: Robbie and Stephen Amell‘s sci-fi film “Code 8” have raised $1.7 million in their Indiegogo campaign from over 20,000 backers, the highest-crowdfunded film of 2016 on any platform. According to the film synopsis, “Code 8” takes place “in a world where 4% of the population are born with some type of supernatural ability. Instead of being billionaire superheroes, most ‘specials’ live in poverty and resort to crime, forcing the police to become more militarized.” The story itself follows “a young man with special powers (Robbie Amell) struggling to find work as a day laborer. After a dispute over payment, he finds himself in a confrontation with a police officer (Sung Kang) and the autonomous robots backing him up.”
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Robbie and Stephen Amell are cousins who have both been acting for roughly the same time. Stephen Amell is best known for playing the superhero Green Arrow in The CW’s “Green Arrow” series. He will also play Casey Jones in the upcoming film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.” Meanwhile, Robbie Allen is best known for playing Stephen Jameson on The CW’s “The Tomorrow People,” as well as the superhero Firestorm on The CW’s “The Flash,” another series in the DC Comics’ Arrowverse.
The “Code 8” campaign was introduced with a ten-minute short film directed by Jeff Chan from a script he wrote with Chris Paré and starring Robbie Amell. The feature-length version of “Code 8” will start filming sometime next year and will star Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Aaron Abrams (“Slings and Arrows”), and Chad Donella (“Scandal”). Watch the short film above.
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